Saliya was awarded a Bachelor of Biotechnology from Box Hill Institute in Victoria (2010). He then moved to Wagga Wagga to complete a Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) from CSU in 2011 focussing on the role of transcription factor Barx2 in chondrogenic differentiation of adult mesenchymal stem cells. In 2012, he was awarded a CSU Faculty of Science COMPACT postgraduate research scholarship which facilitated his PhD research in the School of Biomedical Sciences on gene modification of adult stem cells and dedifferentiated chondrocytes to produce functional cartilage tissue, in an equine model. In 2016, he joined the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences as an academic within the anatomy/ physiology and microbiology disciplines.

Saliya is currently embedded in the Plant Interactions Research Group at the Gulbali Institute as a research fellow. His main research interests are in plant-plant and plant-microbial interactions and weed management using non-herbicidal strategies. Saliya is currently associated with a GRDC-funded research project investigating the use of cover crops and mulches to suppress key agronomic weeds in the Eastern grain growing region of Australia. He is also associated with various research projects funded by the Federal Government Department of Agriculture, Water and The Environment, investigating the role of cover crops to improve soil health.

• Plant-plant and plant-microbial interactions
• Integrated weed management for broadacre cropping systems
• Use of cover crops for improving of biodiversity in cropping systems
• Pasture legume impacts on livestock health